1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to automotive vehicle suspensions and, more particularly, to a single control arm which takes the place of, or which replaces, a control arm and a spring in an automotive suspension.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Composite spring elements are relatively old in the art. Such spring elements usually are leaf springs which include metal elements and rubber elements usually bonded together. Examples of such elements are found in various patents. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 1,990,802 discloses a leaf spring for an automotive vehicle in which a plurality of metal leaves are combined with rubber elements. The rubber elements are disposed between the metal leaves.
U.S. Pat. No. 2,559,105 also discloses a composite metal and rubber leaf spring system.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,142,598 discloses another type of leaf spring which utilizes resin impregnated fiberglass.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,456,939 discloses a leaf spring system utilizing elastomeric material disposed between metal leaves of a spring.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,698,702 discloses a composite leaf spring formed of two superimposed spring leaves. One of the leaves is formed of metal, fiberglass, or the like, and the other leaf is made of an elastomeric material. The two leaves are bonded together.
It will be noted that in the above discussed patents, leaf springs are disclosed. The end use of the leaf springs is as a spring element in an automotive vehicle suspension. The prior art also discloses the use of leaf springs used in place of metal link type control arms. For example, in U.S. Pat. No. 1,679,853, a transversely mounted leaf spring is used as a spring element in the front end suspension of an automotive vehicle and also in the rear end suspension of an automotive vehicle.
U.S. Pat. No. 2,177,897 also discloses the use of a leaf spring system transversely mounted in an automotive vehicle suspension.
U.S. Pat. No. 2,697,613 also shows the use of transversely mounted leaf springs for an automotive vehicle suspension system.
None of the above-described patents discloses the use of a composite element which includes dimensional integrity and flexibility as part of a suspension system for automotive vehicles. The apparatus of the present invention includes both dimensional integrity and flexibility in a single element. In addition to replacing a control arm and a spring, the apparatus of the present invention also replaces the bushings required for the pivoting of prior art control arms.